Dispensing package of plastic gloves



March 29, 1966 F. R. RETTMER DISPENSING PACKAGE OF PLASTIC GLOVES Filed June 22, 1964 FIG. 3

INvE/v TOR FORAEST R. RETTMER Y 7 ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,243,079 DISPENSING PACKAGE F PLASTIC GLOVES Forrest R. Rettmer, Mankato, Minn., assignor t0 Viking Plastics, Inc, Mankato, Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Filed June 22, 1964, Ser. No. 376,846 1 Claim. (Cl. 22163) This invention relates generally to packaging devices, and more particularly it relates to a dispensing package for sheet materials and the like.

Much design and development Work has gone into the development of boxes for packaging sheet materials which may be readily converted into dispensing packages when the box is opened by the user. For example, one device has been the well known method of packaging facial tissues wherein the tissues are stacked in an overlapping relationship within the box so that when the first tissue is removed from a slot or opening in the package, the following tissues are partially removed and exposed for easy access. However, the above-noted method of packaging and dispensing facial tissues is not readily adaptable to various other types of sheet materials, either by reason of their shape or because of the type of material from which the sheet or the like are formed.

With the above in mind, it is noted that the present invention generally comprises a dispensing package or box for sheet materials which includes a novel bridge member positioned within the box and disposed to carry and elevate intermediate portions of the sheet materials for easy removal thereof through an opening in the box. The present invention has been found to be highly satisfactory in the packaging and dispensing of gloves formed from a relatively thin plastic sheet material, such as polyethylene or the like. Although the use of the present invention in the packaging and dispensing of plastic gloves or the like is an excellent illustration of the novel features of this invention, it will be readily appreciated that restriction of the use of this invention to such an application is not intended. Thus, an important object of the present invention is the provision of a novel box for the packaging and dispensing of sheet materials.

Another object of the present invention in the provision of a box for packaging and dispensing sheet materials which includes a bridge member positioned within the box and having an intermediate ridge portion disposed to elevate intermediate portions of the sheet materials for easy access and removal thereof through an opening in the box.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of a dispensing package for sheet materials in which the bridge member thereof includes deck sections which converge upwardly with respect to one another and carry the intermediate portions of a stack of sheet materials within the box in a manner to dispose the sheet material so that the uppermost sheet may be readily grasped by a pinching together of a persons thumb and finger.

Other objects of this invention reside in the provision of a dispensing and packaging box for sheet materials which is designed for convenience and economy of manufacture.

The above and still further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed specification, appended claims and drawings.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts or elements throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of the dispensing box of the present invention and showing one sheet of material partially removed from the box;

Patented Mar. 29, 1966 ice FIG. 2 is a partially exploded view in perspective of this invention, some parts being broken away; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view in section taken approximately on the line 33 of FIG. 1.

Referring again to the drawings, the package or box of the present invention comprises a bottom wall 1, a top wall 2, spaced side walls 3, 4 and end walls 5. The box may be formed from any suitable generally rigid sheet material, such as paperboard, plastic or corrugated paperboard, and the box is preferably formed in the usual manner by the folding of a sheet of the box material which has been cut and scored to define the necessary flaps and walls for the box. As shown in FIG. 3, the side wall 4 of the :box may be formed by overlapping flaps 6 which are suitably secured together, as by gluing, not shown. Similarly, the end walls 5 of the box may be formed by securing together overlapping lflaps 7, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The top wall 2 of the dispensing package or box is perforated, as at 8 in FIG. 2, in order to permit the removal of a section of the top wall 2 to define an opening 9 therein. Although the opening 9 is illustrated as an elongated or elli tical opening, it will be appreciated that the size and configuration of the opening 9 may be varied as necessary. The opening 9 is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings at an offset location generally adjacent one of the end walls 5 of the box, although it should be noted that the location of the opening 9 may be varied as may be necessary in accordance with use of this invention for the packaging and dispensing of various types of sheet materials, the latter of which is shown at 10 in the drawings. However, when using the present invention for packaging and dispensing plastic gloves of the type noted above, the opening 9 will be preferably located adjacent the end of the box carrying the generally straight wrist portion of the gloves, as opposed to the generally unsymmetric finger or hand end portions, not shown, of the gloves which may be relatively nonuniformly stacked adjacent the other end of the container.

In accordance with the present invention, the box further comprises a bridge member, represented generally by the reference numeral 11. The bridge member 11 is formed from a blank of sheet material, such as paperboard, plastic or the like, scored and folded to the configuration shown particularly in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings and disposed within the box in order to carry and elevate the generally intermediate portions of the stack of sheet materials 10. The bridge member '11 comprises a pair of generally flat and rectangular generally similar deck sections which when positioned within the box are disposed to converge upwardly from the lower box corners 13 formed by the bottom wall 1 and the opposed side walls 3, 4. The converging deck sections 12 define an elongated ridge portion 14 located generally intermediate the opposite sides of the deck sections 12 and disposed in spaced relation below the opening 9 in the top wall -2, as shown particularly in FIG. 3. In the illustrated embodiment, the ridge portion 14 of the bridge member 11 is disposed generally centrally of the opening 9 and in longitudinal alignment therewith.

The bridge member 11 further comprises a pair of generally rectangular side sections 15 which extend generally upwardly from the opposite sides of the deck sections 12, as shown particularly in FIGS. 2 and 3. It will be noted that the lower elongated corners 16 defined at the fold between the side sections 15 and the deck sections 12 engage the inner elongated corners 13 of the box when the bridge member 11 is placed therein. With this arrangement, the side sections 15 engage the side walls 3, 4 of the box and are disposed in general parallelism therewith. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the side sections 15, with the adjacent deck sections 12 define .3 laterally spaced recesses 17 adapted to receive the opposite side portions 18 of the sheet materials stacked or carried upon the deck sections 12 of the bridge member 11.

With the novel bridge member 11 described above, it will be noted that the generally intermediate portions of the stack of sheet materials 10 are elevated and disposed generally immediately below the opening 9 whereby a persons thumb and finger may be conveniently inserted into the opening 9 for engagement of opposed and diverging portions of the uppermost sheet, whereupon pinching the same together, the uppermost sheet may be grasped and easily removed from the package through the opening 9 without disturbing the remainder of the sheet materials stacked upon the bridge member 11. This operation and function of the bridge member 11 is particularly illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawings.

This invention has been thoroughly tested and found to be completely satisfactory for the accomplishment of the above-noted objects; and while a preferred embodiment thereof in which the principles of the present invention have been incorporated has been shown and described above, it should be specifically understood that the same may be modified without departure from the scope and spirit of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A disposable dispensing package for plastic gloves and comprising:

(a) a box formed from sheet material and having side, end, top and bottom walls and wherein said side walls meet said bottom wall to define generally parallel lower box corners,

(b) a stack of plastic gloves formed from plastic sheet material and disposed within said box,

(c) said box top wall having an opening for removal of said gloves from the stack within the box, and

(d) a bridge member formed from a single piece of generally rigid sheet material and positioned within the box, said bridge member being disposed to carry and elevate intermediate portions of the stacked gloves for easy removal thereof through said opening, said bridge member comprising:

(1) a pair of generally fiat deck sections which converge upwardly from said lower box corners to define an elongated ridge portion located generally intermediate the opposite sides of said deck sections and disposed below but in general alignment with the opening of said top wall,

(2) a pair of side sections each one extending generally upwardly from a different one of opposite sides of said deck sections,

(3) said side sections of said bridge member being disposed adjacent the opposite side walls of the box and in general parallelism therewith, and said side sections, with the adjacent deck sections of said bridge member, defining spaced recesses adapted to receive opposite side portions of the gloves stacked upon said bridge member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,072,859 9/1913 Kingsley 221-59 1,823,055 9/ 1931 Magill 206-4516 2,010,118 8/1935 Tanbay 206-4516 2,082,765 6/1937 Krueger 221- 2,142,808 1/1939 Thor 221- 2,592,255 4/1952 Drees 221-58 2,802,567 8/ 1957 Covel.

3,202,316 8/1965 Silver 221-59 FOREIGN PATENTS 186,224 11/1936 Switzerland.

RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Primary Examiner.

KENNETH N. LEIMER, LOUIS J. DEMBO,

Examiners. 

